


Starting Point

by Book_Mage



Series: Puella Magi Marinette Magica [2]
Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, PMMM AU, it's origin story time, tw: Mentions of Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25700506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_Mage/pseuds/Book_Mage
Summary: Everyone has a place where they started. For Adrien, his life began the day Marinette's ended.But he can change it. Make it so it never happened in the first place. All he has to do is contract to Plagg.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Chloé Bourgeois & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Puella Magi Marinette Magica [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862098
Kudos: 19





	Starting Point

-  
**[0]**  
-

"Class! We have a new student joining us today!"

Caline Bustier stood at the front of the classroom, clapping her hands together in order to gain her student's attention. Beside her stood a boy. His blond hair was neatly side swept, and he wore thin black glasses. The boy's gaze was fixed firmly on the ground, and he squirmed when he saw that the entire class was staring at him.

"Adrien has been out of school for a couple months, and he was homeschooled before that," Mme. Bustier said. "Please be kind to him!"

She nodded at Adrien, and he cautiously took a seat, everyone staring at him as he did so. Adrien still kept his gaze fixed on the ground, not looking at anyone as he pulled his binder out of his school bag.

* * *

"So, what's homeschooling like?"

"I heard that your father was really good at fashion design! Is he famous?"

"Your glasses are really nice! Where did you get them?"

These questions and more bombarded Adrien, who was trying to eat his lunch in peace. People crowded around him, asking dozens of questions about his home life, what kind of sports he did, if he liked music, everything. Adrien knew that they were trying to be nice, but all he wanted to at the moment was find a place to get away from it all.

"Everyone! I'm afraid that Adrien needs to go fill out some papers at the main office!"

The crowd parted, revealing a small, dark-haired girl with the bluest eyes Adrien had ever seen. The girl skipped up to him, giving him a bright smile.

"As the class representative, I'll lead him there," the girl said. "Come along with me!"

Adrien nodded, quickly packing everything and getting to his feet. The girl began to lead him through the halls, away from the hubbub of the cafeteria. Adrien racked his brain, trying to remember if there were any papers he had missed. Aunt Amelie had been very thorough about the whole thing.

As if she could sense his confusion, the girl laughed. "Don't worry! There's not actually any papers. You just look kind of overwhelmed, you know? My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Ah," Adrien said. "I'm Adrien Agreste."

"I know!" Marinette said. "Your father was Gabriel Agreste, right? The famous fashion designer? I've always liked his work. It's a shame that he died so young."

"Oh," Adrien said softly. "Are you into fashion?"

Marinette nodded excitedly. "I want to be a fashion designer. What about you?"

"I... I don't know," Adrien admitted. "Everyone has these great expectations for me, to follow in either my father's footsteps and become a designer, or be like my mother and become an actor. I'm nothing special though. Not like them."

"Don't say that!" Marinette yelled, aghast. "Everyone is good at something! All you have to do is find that one thing, then follow your dreams!"

"I'm not very good at anything though," Adrien said. "I don't have any strengths at all."

Marinette spun on her heel, and grabbed both of his hands. "Then we'll find out what you're good at together! I'm sure there's something you're amazing at. I can already tell that you're incredibly kind!"

Adrien didn't say anything, his cheeks warming as he stared into Marinette's bright eyes. He could only numbly nod in agreement.

* * *

Unfortunately for Adrien, the rest of his day didn't go as well as lunch did. In Mrs. Mendeleiev's class, he couldn't recall any of the chemical formulas they were supposed to have memorized by that point, and in gym he could barely run a lap around the track before collapsing on the ground. Though none of the students actively voiced their criticisms about him, he could see them avoiding his gaze and whispering to each other.

Adrien was left walking alone on his way back to the small home, which Amelie had generously got for him. She and Felix still lived in London, and were unable to move due to work.

Adrien felt lonely as he walked past the crowds of other students, and he sped up to get home as soon as possible. Once reaching the bridge, he slowed down, the beginnings of a cramp already starting to form in his stomach.

"That went terrible," he muttered to himself. "Have a good first day, my foot. I knew I should've stuck to homeschooling."

All he wanted to do was coop himself up in his home, but no, Amelie insisted that he attend an actual school in order to get some social interaction. Apparently, speaking to her Felix every week wasn't enough. Maybe they thought that going to school would drag him out of his slump. In reality, all it did was make it worse.

Poisoning thoughts began to fill his mind as he walked across the bridge, whispering all sorts of things to him with a high, saccharine tone.

_You're worthless you know. A complete waste of space._

"Worthless... A complete waste of space..."

_That's right. You'll never live up to the expectations others have set for you. You'll never be like your parents. Maybe you should just take a step right off the bridge and disappear._

"Disappear," Adrien said, rolling the word in his mouth. "Yeah... I should just disappear."

The sickly sweet voice filled his ears one last time.

_I can help you with that._

Adrien took one final step, and found himself within a whole new world. Instead of the sunset and the bridge, the sky was made up of a child's scribble of blue and yellow, the ground a papery green. Strings descended from the sky, revealing a tangled mass of wood dressed up in a bright blue gown, their hair made out of thick brown yarn. Adrien could see one word carved into her wooden face.

 _**Puppenspielerin**_  


With a crack, her arms moved, pointed a wand at him. Three faceless puppets rose from the ground, staggering towards them, their jagged arms beckoning towards him. Biting back a shriek, Adrien stumbled back, falling onto the ground as he did. In a last--ditch attempt to protect himself, he raised his bag over his head, waiting for the puppets to attack-

Instead, he heard the sound of blasts, and wood splintering. Adrien lowered his bag, his eyes widening when he saw the two girls in front of them.

One of them was a blonde girl, wielding an old-fashioned musket. There was a small hat on her head, with a golden pin attached to it. She wore a brown corset-style top, with puffy cream arm warmers and brown fingerless gloves. She also had a dainty yellow skirt, with striped brown knee socks and a matching pair of boots.

"...Chloé?" Adrien said, squinting at her. "Is that you?"

"Adrien?" Chloé said. She scowled. "Dammit. The one day I skip school is the one day something interesting happens. Marinette, can we finish this quickly?"

"Marinette!?" Adrien shouted, looking at the other girl.

Marinette smiled back at him, letting out a weak giggle. She was dressed in a puffy red and black dress, with short sleeves and matching gloves. Ruffled socks reached her knees, along with a bright red pair of mary-janes. Her pigtails were tied back two red bows, and Adrien could see the glint of a red jewel on her ear.

"Hey Adrien," Marinette said. "You're going to keep this between us three, right?"

Adrien nodded quickly, and Marinette turned back to the monster. "Now then, Chloé, I believe we have a witch to take down."

"Right," Chloé muttered. "You better not mess up this time, Dupain-Cheng."

“Last I checked, you were the one who messed up last time,” Marinette shot back, lifting a wooden bow.

Marinette pulled back her bow, shooting off a round of bright red arrows. At the same time, Chloé drew two rifles, firing off dozens of glowing bullets. They all struck the monster, and she shrieked as she was blown to bits, her wand splintering. Pieces of shattered wood landed around them, and the world faded, and they were back on the bridge.

"Jeez," Chloé muttered, picking up a small seed from the ground. "Adrien, you're going to have to come with us. I'm guessing you have a lot of questions."

Adrien gulped.

* * *

Soon enough, all three of them were sitting in Chloé's suite, where Marinette pulled out a bag of pastries. Adrien's mouth watered as she placed a pile of croissants onto the tables. Chloé quickly grabbed one of the bread rolls.

"Haven't had one of these in awhile," she muttered, taking a bite. "So. Adrien. We're basically these things called Miraculous. By making a contract with a thing called a kwami, you gain these powers and can fight monsters like that thing back there."

Adrien blinked. "Okay?"

Marinette laughed. "I think it's better if we show him. Tikki? Pollen?"

Two large creatures floated out of Marinette's and Chloé's bags, and Adrien jumped. Both kwamis had bulbous heads, with thin bodies and wide eyes. They gave off a faint glow as they moved.

"By making a contract with one of these kwamis, you can become a Miraculous, and fight Akuma's," Marinette said, lifting a piece of her hair to reveal a gray earring on her right ear. "The magic is stored in these pieces of jewelry, called Soul Gems. Mine is an earring. Chloé's is a hairpin."

"This... This is a whole lot to take in," Adrien said.

"We have time," Marinette said. "It isn't that hard of a job! Of course, I only contracted a couple weeks ago."

She scratched her neck. Chloé shook her head. "You're selling yourself short, Dupain-Cheng. I hate to admit, but you're a quick learner when it comes to this."

Marinette laughed, and Adrien felt a smile grow on his face. Chloé grabbed a croissant from the table, and glanced at the map in the corner of the room.

"Enough meandering," she said. "In a couple weeks, this Akuma called Walpurgisnacht is coming. We're gonna need some serious firepower to defeat it, Marinette, so you better keep training. And Adrien, consider what you might want to wish for."

* * *

"Marinette, please don't go!"

Adrien knelt on the cold, wet stone, his hands quivering. Between them sat Chloé's lifeless corpse, her body already growing cold. A surprise attack from one of Walpurgisnacht's familiar had struck in her the head, the blow killing her instantly. Adrien's throat tightened as he looked at Chloé's prized silver comb, the shattered remains still clinging to strands of her blonde hair.

Marinette stood with her back to him, watching the carnage Walpurgisnacht unleashed upon the city. She shook her head, her gloved fingers tightening around her wooden bow.  
"I have to defeat her," she said. "It's my duty as a Miraculous to do so."

"But it's dangerous!" Adrien protested, his voice breaking. "We can just pack up and leave! Take Nino and the others with us!"

Marinette looked back at him. "Adrien, I need to do this. All my life, I've searched for a purpose. As a Miraculous, I need to stop Walpurgisnacht in their tracks.

Her expression softened. "Adrien, I've truly enjoyed our time together. Live for both of us, okay?"

With that she jumped off, towards the spiraling akuma. Adrien ran after her, tripping over fallen rocks.

"No! Stop! Please! _Marinette!"_

-

-

-

"Why? You knew you were going to be killed all along. Why?"

Adrien collapsed to his knees, staring down at Marinette. She laid half-submerged within a puddle on water, eyes closed and her signature earring nowhere to be seen.  
He had known this would happen. The second the world lit up with a flare of bright red, he'd known that Marinette's fate had been sealed. Never again would Marinette see her friends or family. She wouldn't be a fashion designer like she dreamed. Her life had sputtered out. All to save him.

Adrien collapsed into sobs, holding Marinette’s body in his arms. "Rather than save a useless someone like me, I would've rather had you keep living!" 

_-Is that really what you want to wish for?-_

Adrien looked up, his eyes puffy. A flicker of black floated before him. Small black clouds followed the flicker as it moved, coming to stop on one of the broken light fixtures.

"A kwami!" Adrien breathed. "You can grant me a wish?"

_-Why else would I show myself to you? Of course I can. I can even make that wish come true. Name's Plagg, kiddo. What're you going to wish for?-_

"I... I wish..."

Adrien took off his glasses, wiping away some stray tears before continuing. "I want to redo my meaning with Marinette. I don't want to be the person who always has to be protected. I want to become someone who can protect her!"

Plagg didn't reply. A searing pain burst in Adrien's chest, and he gasped as a glowing grey light burst out of his chest, soaring into the air. It floated lazily, and Plagg nodded at him.

Cautiously, Adrien reached out, and grabbed the light with both hands. As he stared at it, he heard a small _click._

Everything went dark.

_-Congrats. You've surpassed entropy-_

* * *

**_Puppenspielerin  
Puppeteer _** _  
_

_The Akuma of puppets. Her nature is indignant. She creates her familiars with a wave of her wand, and revels in a state of eternal youth. She steals the life force of humans who enter her barrier to give her puppets the one thing they lack- life. Anyone who dares disturb her play will be torn apart for their humanity. In order to defeat the witch, her wand must be broken.  
_

____

__

__

___**Schlemiel** _

_The Akuma of Puppet's minion. A faceless dummy created by Puppeteer for the sole purpose of being brought to life. It takes a rendition of the human's face it drained the life from.  
_

**Author's Note:**

> Useful Footnotes:
> 
> [1] Within the PMMM universe, Witch names are often written in a language known as witch runes, which is essentially a series of symbols that all translate to a single letter. When translated, witch runes often spell out the Witch's name.
> 
> [2] If they don't translate to a Witch name, witch runes often translate to a sentence/word written in German. As such, I decided to translate the Akuma names to German. In this case, Puppenspielerin translates to 'Puppeteer'. Make of that what you will.
> 
> [3] Walpurgisnacht refers to a coven of witches. In the series, Walpurgis was formed by thirty-two witches being fused together, making her nigh untouchable. Her only weakness is that she is susceptible to magic, thus why Madoka (and Marinette) were able to defeat her. Due to the fact that Witches in this AU are called 'Akumas', I did want to change it, but I couldn't figure out a better name. I considered Faust (as PMMM has dozens of allusions/parallels to it), but then decided that'd be too on the nose.
> 
> [4] While the original series was slightly vague about it, a Drama CD indicates that within Timeline 0, Madoka defeated Walpurgis by performing a suicide attack. Considering how Kyoko creates a kamikaze in episode eight of the anime by shattering her Soul Gem, I'm assuming Madoka did something similar.
> 
> [5] Every uses the weapons their PMMM counterpart does. At one point, I considered giving Marinette her yoyo, and by extension Alya her flute and Nino his shield, but I wanted to remain consistent between all the iterations, and I really couldn't figure a clear way to create an hourglass function on Adrien's staff, nor how Chloé's top would work here.
> 
> Yeah, PMMM has a lot of extra lore to wade through. I enjoy this kind of stuff though. If you haven't seen PMMM, I highly recommend watching it.
> 
> As for updates, I'm probably taking a break from ML for a bit. I have ideas for another four parts to this, for the next four timelines shown in episode ten of the show, but I'm going to burn myself out if I keep on going at a pace like this. While it's currently marked as complete, I'm probably going to update someday. I'm just marking it as complete to take some pressure off myself.
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> \- Book Mage


End file.
